Knockoff Glutenfree Lofthouse Cookies and an adventure gone wrong!

   I am either fortunate or unfortunate enough to have had many years of my life where I could eat gluten. I used to LOVE those little cookies that you buy in the bakery department. They always had pastel colored frosting and sprinkles. They were soft baked sugar cookies and they were AMAZING. However, they are also filled with gluten so now they are out. I just drool over them when I walk by them in the stores.
     The other day I was checking out Pinterest and saw a recipe for cookies that were supposed to be JUST LIKE Lofthouse cookies!! I pinned the recipe and decided I would have to give them a try sometime. I also decided that they would make a great base recipe for this other cute idea I had seen. You turn a circle shaped cookie into what looks like a melted snowman.
    So today I decided I would convert the lofthouse recipe into gluten free and make the snowman cookies. I made the cookies and then went to start on the decorating.....OOPS I bought the wrong size marshmallows, and I don't have the right ingredients to make the right kind of icing. OH geez...this isn't turning out very well at all. So my snowmen turned out pretty darn ugly!! They were NOT the cute and adorable things that I had pictured. Mine were downright scary! So I ended up pulling the little marshmallows off the cookies, making the knockoff lofthouse icing and coating the cookies with a second layer of icing. I topped that second layer with sprinkles and the ugly cookies were now beautiful!! So the epic fail turned into a save!! YEAH!!! I may give the melted snowcookies a try another day when I have the right ingredients gathered. But for now...
      Here are some pictures for your laughing pleasure.............

This is how the Melted Snowman Cookies were SUPPOSED to look

This is how mine was shaping up to look.....epic fail!

This is all the snowmen laid out....but not decorated. I didn't get the right size Marshmallows AND didn't have ingredients for the right kind of icing to decorate them further. UGH! SO I dis-assembled them and made them beautiful pink cookies!

These look SO much prettier than the scary snowmen!

So I will also share the Knockoff Lofthouse recipe....I don't think it is exactly like lofthouse, but it does make a good cookie. I also cut the recipe in half.....the original non gf recipe used 6 cups of flour!!! I couldn't justify using 6 cups on an experimental recipe. Gluten free flour is TOO expensive.

    

Lofthouse Style Frosted Sugar Cookies

Cookies:

3 cups gluten free flour blend
1/2 tsp. Xanthan Gum
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. butter, at room temperature
1 c. granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla extract
3/4 c. sour cream

Frosting:

1/2 c. butter, room temperature
1/2 t. vanilla extract
2 c. powdered sugar
3 T. heavy cream OR Evaporated Milk
Several drops food coloring
Multi-colored Sprinkles

Directions:
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the flat beater attached, cream the butter and granulated sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time beating until each is incorporated. Add the vanilla and sour cream and beat at low speed until combined.

Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, scraping down the bowl as needed. Dough will be a bit “sticky”. Chill the dough for approximately an hour and a half in the refrigerator.

Use about 1 tablespoon of the chilled dough, roll it into a ball in your hands. Work quickly so the dough doesn't get warm in your hands. Place the ball on a well greased cookie sheet. Flatten the dough down with the bottom of a glass. Continue filling your cookie sheet. Place the unused dough back into the fridge while the batch of cookies bake.

Bake at 425 deg. for about 10 min. or until cookies are a golden brown color.

To make the frosting, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and vanilla. Slowly beat in the powdered sugar. Once smooth and creamy, add in heavy cream, 1 tablespoon at a time until the desired spreading consistency is achieved. If desired, add food coloring and beat until combined.

Once cookies have cooled completely, frost and add sprinkles. Allow frosting to set, then store in an air-tight container. Let cookies sit for several hours before serving to allow the flavors to develop.

Roll the chilled dough into balls

Flatten the dough with the bottom of a glass.

Bake at 425 until golden brown (about 10 min.)

Frost with the beautiful pink frosting (or whatever color you chose)

Add lots of sprinkles and be SO glad you didn't make the awful snowmen! ha